On area campuses, international students feeling uneasy

Capital Region's colleges, universities discuss hostilities

For some international students, college campuses in the Capital Region and elsewhere suddenly feel less welcoming.

Travel bans and visa issues, coupled with hostile comments from other students, are making their lives more complicated.

Several presidents of Capital Region colleges and universities talked about their concerns Thursday morning during a panel discussion sponsored by the Rensselaer County Regional Chamber of Commerce and moderated by Guha Bala, president of Troy-based Velan Ventures.

"We've had issues where some students in one way or another would do something or say something that's threatening to our other students," said Drew Matonak, president of Hudson Valley Community College in Troy. "I'm concerned what the rhetoric has created" for the school's Muslim students.

"It's very clear in my lifetime we've become a global planet," said James R. Stellar, acting president of the University at Albany. "If you think America is an exceptional country, you'll have to say it was made that way by people who came here from other countries."

"Anything that threatens that" is a concern, he said. "I can't emphasize enough the need for us to have these students on our campus."

"The data show already that American institutions are losing students, particularly to Canada," said Susan C. Scrimshaw, president of the Sage Colleges. Referring to challenges facing foreign students who are finding it difficult to obtain visas, she said, "the loss, if this policy is maintained, is going to be tremendous."

While no one directly blamed the current administration in Washington for the growing hostility, Scrimshaw talked of leaflets left on cars on campus that bore swastikas and the Star of David a week after the presidential election.

"We were broadly exposed to symbols that were clearly negative," she said.

At Siena College, Brother F. Edward Coughlin, the school's president, said the Muslim students "appreciate there's an environment respectful of their religious traditions." But, he added, "they're very uncomfortable" about how attitudes are developing against them.

"Our students are nervous, particularly our Muslim students," said Matonak of HVCC.

Following a question from an audience member, the discussion evolved into the value of diversity, with the presidents suggesting increasing awareness among potential employers and the opportunities posed by internships for both students and employers, as well as the importance of on-campus role models.

"We have just appointed two vice presidents for the first time in our history who are African-American," said Carolyn J. Stefanco, president of The College of Saint Rose.

The Sage Colleges recently hired a director of diversity and inclusion, David B. Green Jr., said Scrimshaw, who stressed the benefits of exposure to other languages and cultures.

"People who are bilingual or bicultural rank higher on emotional intelligence," she said. "That's something that's becoming highly valued in the workplace."